A Cooking Baker

Food on a stick isn't just for the fair! I was just paging through a few magazines, trying to thin out the pile, and I found a great list of ingredients to combine for kebabs.  Kebabs are fab for parties - you can have big platters of ingredients, and people can put together their own combinations.  I love that this particular list of ingredients includes foods that are either already cooked or don't need to be, so you don't need to worry about cross-contamination like you might with raw chicken or beef.  If you want to go that route, marinate the chunks of meat in advance, and then have a hand-washing station for guests once they've skewered their meats.  Here's a list to get your started - just pick a variety of ingredients you'd like to try, put out a pile of skewers, a mister with some evoo, some salt & pepper, and have some fun! slices of baguette fresh mozzarella balls cubed Halloumi cheese (it's kind of like Feta, and it's good for grilling)...

I love beef barbacoa.   The best I've ever had was from Cocina DeLeon in Brookfield, which is now closed.  I was inspired to experiment on my own, and I've combined about five different recipes from the Internet with some of my own tweaks (yes, I used a spreadsheet to compare ingredients).  The results were met with very positive responses, so much so, that I had no photos. [Update: added a new photo!  Also, make a double batch of the marinade, and freeze 1/2 so it's super easy to make next time.] Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa 2-3 lb. chuck roast 1 medium white onion, diced 3/4 c. chicken stock 4-6 avocado leaves (hojas de aguacate)* 3 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice (juice of 2) 1/2 c. cider vinegar 4 chipotle chiles and a little adobo sauce from the can 1 bunch of cilantro, chopped (remove big pieces of stem) 4 garlic cloves, minced 1-1/2 tsp. salt 1-1/2 tsp. ground black pepper 2 tbsp. ground cumin 2-1/2 tsp. Mexican oregano ...

I just had a taste of an amazing cucumber salsa this morning (yes, this morning - there's never a bad time for salsa).  SO good.  It was so refreshing, and I could see myself consuming an entire batch alone.  So off to the store I went to get what I needed to make it ASAP.  It's the perfect taste for a hot day like today! It had garlic scapes in it - and I had seen them at the farmer's market this weekend, but didn't know what they were, or what I would do with them.  Enter my mom, who introduced me to the salsa, and Google, where I figured out exactly what they are!  Here ya go: Garlic scapes are the curly flower stalks snapped off the garlic plants (which is done to increase the size of the garlic bulbs for harvest).  Garlic scapes can be chopped and used like garlic, or used as garlic-flavored scallions (mmmmmm - stir-fry?!).  You should store them in the fridge, unwashed, loosely-wrapped in a plastic bag for up to 2 weeks. So here's the ...

Watermelon and Feta?  Really? Yes.  REALLY.  The salty and the sweet, with a little heat from the pepper, is seriously good.  It's super refreshing in the summer, too. Try it - I think you might be surprised! I'm no carver of fruit, but it was kind of fun to serve the salad in the hollowed-out melon at a shower we did - I think next time I'd slice the melon the long way, though, for a longer, lower "bowl".  It looks great in a Pampered Chef "Simple Additions" square bowl, too.  (You're welcome, PC friends, and again, Pampered Chef, feel free to hook a lady up!)   Watermelon & Feta Salad 3 c.  2"chunks watermelon, seeded (I'm lazy - I use seedless) 1 c. crumbled feta cheese (reduced fat is fine, just get a good brand) Coarsely ground black pepper to taste 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes (optional) OR chop up some arugula and add that for a little peppery taste 1/4 c. red onion, thinly sliced (optional) In a...

I whipped these up the other night when I needed to use up a handful of leftover pizza ingredients in the fridge.  I made my own dough, but you can usually buy some in the deli section of your grocery store.   I didn't measure, so I am kind of guessing on the quantities here - that's the beautiful thing about these, though - you can just wing it with the filling, and it usually works out fine.  Feel free to use what you have on hand, or get creative with your filling ingredients.  I ran out to the garden and just grabbed a few handfuls of fresh herbs, so you can use what you have in your garden, too.  Either par-bake the calzones, and then wrap and freeze for another night (thaw and then bake until golden), or just throw them in the oven for dinner (even better, make a double batch if you have enough ingredients, and do one batch for dinner, and one for another night!).  Freezer-Friendly Calzones 1 recipe bread machine pizza dough (or whatever you pre...

I found some pork tenderloins on special a few weeks ago, so I bought a few, made some into freezer meals and left the rest "plain."  I'm thawing the last one out today for dinner.  Here's the marinade I'm trying, using fresh flat-leaf parsley from our garden - tried to make it easy with the measurements, but you can tweak here and there to your liking.  We're going to grill it, but you could prepare it in the oven, too.  Marinated Pork Tenderloin for the Grill 1⁄3 c. olive oil 1⁄3 c. soy sauce 1⁄3 c. c. red wine vinegar Juice of 1 lemon (about 2-3 tbsp.) 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 4 cloves garlic, minced 2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped 2 tsp. dry mustard 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 1 1-lb. pork tenderloin Whisk together all ingredients, and either pour over tenderloin in a non-reactive dish, or put it all in a Ziploc bag and marinate in the fridge for at least 3-4 hours.  You could toss it in the freezer for another night, too (...

I don't bake a ton, but when I do.... ...it better be REALLY tasty if I'm going to splurge on the calories.  I'm not usually tempted by sweets, but I do keep coming back to the pan for these.  I love the salty sweet contrast, and of course almonds and dark chocolate together.  So good! Dark Chocolate Almond Blondies 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. kosher salt 2 c. packed brown sugar (light or dark is fine) 1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract 2 large eggs 1 1/2 c. dark chocolate chips (or chunks), divided 1 c. whole almonds, chopped, divided Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease 13 x 9-inch baking pan.  Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl, set aside.  In mixer bowl, beat together brown sugar, butter and vanilla extract until creamy. Add eggs; beat until light and fluffy. Gradually stir in flour mixture. Stir in 3/4 cup chips and 1/2 cup chopped almonds. ...